At Girls on the Run, girls learn to recognize their strengths, express themselves, and build confidence in who they are. Those ideas are also at the heart of Dr. Claudia Beeny’s work as founder and executive director of House of Shine, a nonprofit focused on helping people better understand themselves and the contributions they are uniquely equipped to make.
With more than 30 years of experience in education and leadership development, Claudia has dedicated her career to helping people build greater self-awareness. Through House of Shine’s SHINE framework, individuals explore the strengths, hobbies, interests, irritants, needs, and experiences that shape who they are.
We spoke with Claudia about the connection between self-awareness and confidence, how caring adults can help girls discover what makes them unique, and the small practices that can help young people better understand themselves and use their voices.
House of Shine helps people understand who they are and why their contributions matter. Why is that kind of self-awareness essential to developing confidence and leadership?
Claudia Beeny: I have found in my own career that the leaders I most enjoy working with are those who have confidence in who they are and who have grounded their contributions in areas of natural talent and aptitude. When we feel like we are competing with others, it’s easy to question our self-worth and to let insecurities creep in. Self-aware, confident leaders like themselves and are not threatened by other people’s successes. They realize there is room for everyone at the table.
At Girls on the Run, we help girls build confidence that lasts well beyond the program. Your SHINE framework explores the foundation of that confidence. How did you identify strengths, hobbies, interests, irritants, needs, and experiences as the elements that shape someone’s shine?
CB: One of my strengths is the ability to see patterns in large amounts of data and information. I have always had an interest in leadership development, so one year I dedicated my free time to interviewing leaders of all ages and from all walks of life. I asked lots of questions, took copious notes, and then looked for patterns in the answers.
That experience allowed me to see that each leader’s success somehow sat at the cross-section of their strengths, hobbies, interests, irritants, needs, and experiences. The elements of our SHINE might change over time. Those inevitable changes make it even more important to have a framework that we can use our whole life to better understand ourselves.
Girls on the Run helps girls recognize their strengths, express their emotions, build relationships, and use their voices. Where do you see the strongest connection between the Girls on the Run experience and the House of Shine philosophy?
CB: Girls on the Run and House of Shine are beautiful complements to one another. While Girls on the Run is the catalyst for girls recognizing their strengths, expressing their emotions, building relationships, and using their voices, House of Shine provides the framework for organizing what girls and their coaches know about themselves.
We both believe girls are leaders. We both advocate for self-confidence, self-awareness, and resilience. And we both believe that being in community is an effective way to learn and grow. The Shine Framework simply makes it easier for each girl to personalize and integrate these concepts into their own life.
Young people often receive messages about who they should be or what they should be good at. How can caring adults help girls recognize what makes them unique without defining their SHINE for them?
CB: I have found over the years that asking questions is the single most powerful way to assist people in unearthing their SHINE.
For instance, if I notice that my son loves to spend hours rock climbing, I might ask him what it is about rock climbing that he loves so much. When he answers the question by saying he likes rock climbing because it allows him to be quiet and to think strategically about his next move, then he owns that information about himself in a way he would not if I imposed those explanations on him.
Understanding what we need to thrive can help us advocate for ourselves, but that does not always come easily. How can girls begin identifying and communicating their needs with confidence?
CB: In college, I was a Resident Assistant (RA), and I learned two lessons about having hard conversations that I have never forgotten.
First was to never feel pressured to answer a question immediately. If someone asks you to do something that you’re not sure you want to do, it is perfectly acceptable to say you will think about it overnight and get back to them. Buying yourself a few hours to think keeps you from feeling pressured into saying “Yes.”
Second is to refrain from telling someone that what they did was good or bad, and to instead, focus on how their actions made you feel. People can refute accusations, but they cannot refute how something made you feel.
What is one simple reflection or conversation families, coaches, or mentors can use to help girls begin recognizing their strengths, interests, needs, and contributions?
CB: I love this question because we have a monthly ritual at House of Shine that has been in place since 2008. The framework — High, Low, Aha — allows any person to reflect on the best thing that happened that day (week or month), the worst thing that happened, and something learned or discovered about themselves. It doesn’t take long to see the interplay between our strengths, interests, needs, and contributions, and the highs, lows, and ahas we are having in life.
If every girl could understand one thing about what makes her contributions matter, what would you want her to know?
CB: Simple. Your contributions will be the sum total of your unique strengths, hobbies, interests, irritants, needs, and life experiences. No one else on planet earth shares the same combination of those things as you.
Our greatest contributions are the sum of our SHINE, so we should never run from who we are. Instead, embrace it, celebrate it, and leverage it to do what no one else can do quite like you.
Girls on the Run and House of Shine share a belief that confidence grows when girls have opportunities to better understand themselves and recognize what they bring to the world. Whether through reflection, conversation, or trying something new, caring adults can help create space for girls to discover those strengths for themselves.
Claudia was a featured speaker at the 2026 Girls on the Run Summit, where she shared House of Shine’s approach to self-discovery, confidence, and leadership with the Girls on the Run community.
